The Savior Again
by captainhooker
Summary: Takes place immediately after 3x11. My take on how the season proceeds. Hook has to figure out how to get Emma to remember, and Emma's parents need to be saved.


Emma tried her best to act normally as she finished her breakfast. She couldn't let Henry know just how much it disturbed her that a crazy man dressed like a pirate knew her name…and kissed her. Henry finished eating his breakfast and went to get dressed while Emma cleared their plates and put them near the sink to wash later. Then she went to get dressed. Henry was definitely not walking to the bus stop by himself today.

She realized her hands were shaking as she attempted to pull her sweater over her head. Looking in the mirror, she noticed her cheeks were flushed as if she had just run a marathon. Emma didn't understand. It wasn't as if she hadn't had to deal with crazy people in the past. She had built her self-defense skills up over the years to defend the numerous men that saw her as an easy target because she was always alone. It's just that, since Henry had been born, she hadn't had trouble with that. Since Henry had been born, she settled into an apartment and no longer lived on the run, just her and her car. The last person that had tried to target her was Neal, and he was the only one that was ever successful in getting through her thick line of defenses…

She shook her head to clear her mind. None of that was relevant anymore. She never talked about Neal to Henry. Henry was her life now, and she had to get him to school on time. And safely. She emerged from her room, pulling her hair into a ponytail and straightening out her clothes. "Henry?" She called, knocking on his door across the hall.

"Yeah mom? I have to go." The response came from down the hall in the kitchen. Emma turned to face her son. He had his coat and backpack on.

She did her best to plaster a smile on her face. "I'm going to drive you today, Henry. I have to pick up some groceries this morning and I can drop you off on my way."

He shrugged. "Okay. I don't mind taking the bus, you know."

"I know, Henry. I just figured I'd give you a break from walking out in the cold," Emma lied. "Come on, let's go so you aren't late." She grabbed her coat and keys from the hook before scooting to open the door before Henry got there. She looked around quickly, but the stranger was nowhere to be found. Still, she didn't let her guard down until they were down the stairs, outside, and in the car.

She felt better now that Henry was safely at school. She had to hand it to that kid, he was quite perceptive. She thought she had been discreet enough about her worrying, but just as they pulled into the school parking lot, he had asked her what was wrong, and told her in the same sentence that the man at the door wouldn't be back because she scared him off. She shook her head, telling him that everything was fine, and to have a good day at school.

She drove the short distance to the grocery store as the thoughts churned in her head. She tried to remember if there were any pirate events happening that day. There had to be something, it was New York City, after all. That didn't mean the man wasn't crazy. He addressed her by her name. Which he probably saw on her mailbox downstairs. He also said her parents were in trouble. Her parents had abandoned her as a baby. There was no way that pirate man knew anything about them. Maybe he was acting out of a dare. Or he got the wrong Swan, although she couldn't help but remember the way his face lit up when he opened the door. Still, she figured that option was most likely, and he probably got the memo after he kissed her. Surely he was crazy, but he wouldn't be back.

Now at the grocery store, she remembered that was an excuse to convince Henry to let her drive him to school. She had gone grocery shopping the day before. They definitely didn't need groceries. She sighed, turning the car around and heading back home.

Finally arriving at home, Emma thoughts now formed her usual to-do list in her head. She had to clean up the breakfast dishes, get changed, go to the gym, go home and shower, do a few odds and ends, and by then it would be time to go pick up Henry from school. Maybe they'd have movie night. They could pick out something on Netflix, pop some popcorn, and stay up late watching movies because tomorrow it was the weekend and they wouldn't have to get up early.

She parked the car in her usual spot, being careful to lock the doors—by hand because the car was that old—and then she walked in the door of the apartment building. It had the normal empty sound, as most of the tenants were at work. She hummed to herself as she walked up the stairs, her key ready in her hand to open the door.

Upon trying to insert the key, she realized it was already unlocked. What a day to leave the door unlocked. Luckily there was no sign of anyone out of the ordinary in the apartment. No weird cars were there when she pulled in, though it occurred to her that she should have looked out the window that morning to get some kind of idea of what car the crazy pirate man drove, just in case she needed it for a police report.

She turned the handle, opening the door. And suddenly someone grabbed her, twisting her arms around to hold her in a deadlock from behind. She would not easily escape from that. She struggled to see him, but she didn't need to. She recognized his voice when he spoke softly in her ear. "Emma, I'm not here to hurt you. I need to talk to you. Calmly would be preferable, but I can continue to hold you like this if you don't think you'll be able to stay calm and listen. I surely don't mind, I can stay like this all day."

"I'm calling the police," Emma hissed. She knew she couldn't reach her phone.

"Emma. I know you can tell if I'm lying. Tell me if I'm lying when I say I know your parents. I know that they abandoned you as a baby. I know you have a white baby blanket that says Emma on it. I know you put cinnamon in your hot chocolate. I know you almost gave Henry up for adoption when he was born. I know about Neal. I know Neal personally actually."

"What?" Emma spat. "All I see is a creep who looked through my apartment and listened outside my door while we were eating breakfast. A few lucky guesses, and I can tell you for sure that I will not listen to a thing you say if you're friends with Neal. Did you know I have an alarm on my door? When you came in it would have called the police automatically and they will be here in no time. My friend will be here soon and she'll call-"

Emma had started to lash out the best she could, but she had to admit, this man in the leather coat was good. She was absolutely helpless to any escape other than feeble kicks at his legs that only threw her off balance. "Emma I would not say I am friends with Neal in the slightest. Anything you want me to do with him I can surely…never mind. I am begging you. Please listen. You know I'm not lying. You know every word I'm saying is true. And you also know that I'm telling the truth when I say all I want to do is talk to you. Please. I know that you took a vacation to Maine last year, and returned exactly one year ago today."

"How…?" Emma whispered. She had stopped struggling, realizing it was pointless.

"Do you believe me?"

"Let go of me and I'll let you know," Emma said, somewhat calmly.

The pirate man chuckled under his breath. "I know you, Swan, and I know just what will happen if I let you go right now."

"Fine!" Emma exclaimed, exasperated. "I'll listen. I want to know how you know all this stuff. I want to know why you kissed me."


End file.
